Eurofoot 2014 – Day 3
        Hazebeek Sportspark, Oosduinkerke
           Sunday 3rd August 2014, 3pm

          Third/Fourth Play-off, Pitch 1

    FC Nordsjaelland      v     Tottenham Hotspur
      (Light Blue)                (White/Blue)
         4-3-3                       4-3-3

          1(1)                        0(0) 

Spurs – McDermott, Hayford, Maghoma, Walkes(C)(Carter-Vickers 42), Muscatt, Amos, Goddard, Ross, Daly, Harrison(Loft 31), Azzaoui(Walker-Peters 47)

Nordsjaelland – Gall, Tranberg, Ustrup(Eskandri 37)(Jensen 45), Onurlu, Dhaflaoui, Kohler(Bertelsen 24), Henriksen, Mohammad, Hartkopf, Mitloft, Skovgaard(Thorup 35)

Booked – Onurlu 53(Foul), Henriksen 57(Foul)

Scorers – Mitloft 3

Spurs gave more time to the younger elements of the squad for this last game of Eurofoot against the tough Danes. Spurs lined up with McDermott in goal behind Maghoma and Walkes with Hayford at right back and Muscatt on the left. Amos, Goddard and Ross formed the midfield trio in support of Harrison up front with Daly on his right and Azzaoui on his left.

Spurs kicked off the first half and soon found out how strong Nordsjaelland were. The Danes forced a turnover on the right and Dhaflaoui got down the line delivering an early ball into the channel for Mitloft to run onto and score with a low shot into the far corner.

Azzaoui got down the left before cutting inside and forcing a save before Amos headed Muscatt's centre wide of the near post. Kohler landed awkwardly and had to go off before Henriksen fired wide. Ross played in Azzaoui for a chance that went wide.

Spurs replaced Harrison with Loft at half-time for his physical presence. Spurs had an early chance when Azzaoui fed Goddard but the midfielder drove wide. Skovgaard came off worse jumping with Loft and had to be replaced. After Hartkopf drew a save from McDermott, Walkes received a kick to his foot which meant he could not carry on and had to be replaced after a couple of minutes by Carter-Vickers.

Nordsjaelland were not doing well with injuries as Eskandri only lasted a few minutes before he had to be replaced as well. Henriksen fired wide when Mitloft played the ball to him in a good position. Azzaoui was replaced by Walker-Peters to give fresh legs after got Onurlu booked for a foul on him. Muscatt found himself free at the far post when the keeper failed to clear but snatched at the chance firing wide. Henriksen was booked for a foul on the hard working Goddard but by then you knew Spurs would not score.

Spurs finished fourth, one place lower than last year, but higher than West Ham. The Hammers have a good set of attacking players which should carry a suspect defence in the U-18 league this season. They were unfortunate to have had Paranaense and Nordsjaelland in their group.

I have to say that the older heads, if that is the right term, carried the younger less experienced players in this tournament - and that's not to say they are not good enough. Walkes and Georgiou along with Walker-Peters were consistent, while Goddard and Azzaoui showed well in some games. Maghoma has improved and has a good working partnership with Carter-Vickers. Amos has had a growth spurt and now needs to add more muscle to his bigger frame. Oh, and Thomas Glover won the award for best keeper at the tournament – well done.

Now I am just waiting for the U-18 fixtures to be released and to renew my passport.

Ray

· Eurofoot 2014 Day One reports
· Eurofoot 2014 Day Two reports
· Eurofoot 2014 Semi-Final report

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